Perfect Creature
by Nilahxapiel
Summary: After a tragedy, Light is left fatherless at the age of two, and raised by a broke single mother in a bad part of town. Existing for survival alone wears hard on a boy. Brains don't mean much when they're splattered on the pavement. Eventual Yaoi.
1. Interaction

**Perfect Creature**

Rated _M_ for _Mature_

Alternate Universe (the only variable being Light's father died at the age of two, therefore ever attempt will be made to follow a realistic storyline based on that single modification), Violence, Adult Themes, and Heterosexual Relations, and (very) eventual Homosexual Relations.

After a tragedy, Light is left fatherless at the age of two, and raised by a broke single mother in a bad part of town. Existing for survival alone wears hard on a boy. Brains don't mean much when they're splattered on the pavement. Eventual Yaoi.

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><p>.<p>

**Chapter One – **_Year 2002_

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"_He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to to change reality, and will never, therefore, make and progress." -Anway Sadat_

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Anyone that knew anything about him knew that he liked to observe. Then again, there were not many that knew anything about him.

That was the way that L liked to keep it.

However, the only person that knew that he enjoyed observing to this extent was Watari. The man was aware of all of his peculiarities, from his affinity for sweets to the fact that occasionally he liked to venture outside of the safety of his hotel or the local cafe to see just what he was dealing with in the city he happened to be visiting. Japan was an interesting country, with a fascinating culture, one where normality was everything from the business man in the ritzier sections of Tokyo to the faux-Geisha in the red light district. He'd been in Italy for the last six months and had gotten enough of the loud Latin atmosphere. If there was anything to say for Japan, it was that it was clean, and even when it was busy it was never noisy for the sake of being noisy.

First he'd found himself dragging his untied tennis shoes down the sidewalk of a part of town that was the equivalent of the USA's Wall Street. Every man and woman that was not in a business suit was dressed to the nines in some other fashion. Armani, Prada, other brand names that L knew less than nothing about adorned people from head to toe.

People looked down at his faded jeans, cotton shirt and five dollar tennis shoes that weren't even entirely on his feet as an insult to the ground he was walking on. It amused him that anyone could have such attachment to items that in a year or two would be worn down or out of 'style' and be thrown away.

"What is that homeless man doing here?"

"Foreign tourists and their disrespect-"

"-no sense of urgency-move it!"

"...probably American..."

It was not his favorite part of town to say the least.

His favorite was the street with twelve bakeries within a mile radius, all high class and with different delicacies that L was more than happy to spend his time tasting. He spent three hours on that street alone-after all, it was lunch time, and he deserved a rest after all the walking he'd been doing. Their reactions to a man such as L, odd in looks, actions and decidedly _not _Japanese, was fairly friendly, especially when he opened his wallet to them so generously.

After that, he headed east, finding himself in average parts of the city that looked like nothing more than copies of other sectors, from the small fish markets to the comic book stores and the public schools that would most likely produce average children. It was that time of day, when the children of Tokyo were getting out of school, rushing passed him or loitering in on the steps of stores with the intent of meeting their friends. Middle schoolers were headed home, and high school students were on their way to tutoring, cram school, or study groups.

L's hands remained shoved in his pockets as he continued passed them. Children of any age were of little interest to him, and he was rather sure the dislike was returned. If anything, their take on him was more ignorant than cruel, but just the same he quickened his step to get away from the crisp uniforms, giggles and chatter.

"Whoa, who's the foreigner?"

"He looks weird."

"Creepy! Miko-chan, walk faster."

"...He's not Japanese, is he?"

"Shut up, he's not even looking at you..."

The sounds faded away as he turned the corner to a less populated street and continued down for another several blocks, the occasional school aged little person walking by, but as he kept on his trek he could see the descent in atmosphere. The buildings were closer together, the alleyways grimy, and even the uniforms on the teenagers deteriorated from the sharp white of before to the faded low-income uniforms that had probably been passed down from one child to another. The colors seemed duller in this part of town, and there seemed to be less people in transit, not many people were walking from one place to another like L was, most were hanging out on the side of the street, perched on dumpsters or cars, sneering at him as he passed.

This was the point where Watari would get concerned. He would tell L to call the limousine and get in before someone decided he would be a good person to beat to a bloody pulp in order to get his money. But Watari always did underestimate L's fighting skills, something that he and L did not happen to have in common.

Street vendors snapped at him to buy something from them, and L ignored them as he passed. They assumed he was a foreigner that didn't know Japanese, and it was even more amusing to hear the rather rude, unoriginal names they called him in their native language because of it.

The sun was beginning to set, shadows growing all around him as the sun hit the buildings just so, the darkness of the alleys growing all the more intimidating to passersby. L's focus, however, maintained steady on the people rather than the shadows, from the woman fanning herself in her own store because he assumed she was not well off enough to afford air-conditioning, to the barely dressed teenage girl on the sidewalk across the street shouting at her boyfriend for what L presumed was an infidelity with the other barely dressed girl on his other side.

Then, on his left, was a far more familiar setting. Above the door the sign spelled out the district number and the word '_Precinct_' which was more than enough to perk of L's interest, at least slightly. Tonight he would come home to the files on the case he was in Japan to work on, a brilliant con man that had taken millions right from under a large Japanese company's nose. Here were the hookers, the fools, the ignorant children that had decided to make stealing and dealing their trade...

And when he entered, pushing open the heavy doors and stepping inside to cooler air, he heard a sob story that was just that. Exactly that, in fact. Almost..._strangely_ accurate to the mocking thought L had just been circulating.

"Please, I...I've never been in here before, you –you know that. I...I've never done anything like this before! I swear, my mom really needs the money and my friend Hanso said it'd be a fast way to get it..."

Large black eyes turned in the direction of the boy, taking in the black eye on his face and his mussed hair as well as the tears that were falling down his face. He couldn't have been more than sixteen years old, slender in frame and of average height for an Asian boy, though at his age he probably had a few more inches to grow. His face was round and youthful, and there was something genuine about the wide brown eyes that were staring up at the female officer.

"Please, my mom doesn't need this to worry about too..."

It was really quite sad.

"And Hanso will know I've given you his name if he finds out I was here..."

Terribly so...

The woman reached toward the boy and he flinched, recoiled back into his seat. Swallowing thickly and flushing,t he boy looked embarrassed about what he'd given away, and verbally defended his action.

"Sorry, I didn't mean that. I—I just, um, it's nothing."

Abuse? Perhaps. Also very common for a boy in this neighborhood...

Finally, the woman sighed, patting him on the shoulder tenderly. She was a slightly overweight female, but she appeared to be stern and strong on the outside. Of course, such a display tugged on her heart strings. "Alright, sweetie, just a warning this time. Selling heroine is no joke. I do what you to write a report about Hanso just in case."

"Y—Yes, thank you very much."

With that she was headed away, and L was about to move on. He was still in the hallway, peering out over the array of desks of criminals being processed, victims giving statements and witnesses recounting events, every officer in the place looked to be busy with more than three different tasks...

L would be glad he did not look away.

Because from beneath that mussed head of hair, those eyes narrowed and further beneath that, a smile curled at the boy's lips, a smooth smirk with a curl to it that made L's heart stutter, his thought process falter, simply because-

-for thirty-eight seconds exactly, L had believed that act too.

The boy was wiping at his eyes and a letting his face fall into the picture of serenity as another officer handed him a clipboard to write down his statement. The boy did so, and from the movement of his hand L could tell that the writing was elegant and poised, and was sure that if he were to read it there wouldn't be a spelling error in sight.

L loved to observe, but rarely did he find anything truly _interesting _on these little excursions. That was the entire point - to give his mind a rest before he returned to his hotel room and worked with little sleep and few breaks of any sort for weeks at a time.

But this was fascinating. He'd cried and lamented and begged, and when it had worked, he'd straightened himself up and smiled at his victory. There was a quiet intelligence in those eyes. His posture was straight backed and his chin high as he was led over to a bench to await his release, handcuffed still to the wooden arm.

There was something _off _about him. Although his clothes and his swagger, and even the inflection in his voice, when he spoke suggested he had little education, there was a confidence about him that had nothing to do with compensation. He was bright, unusually so, and he knew it. He was attractive, and he used it to his advantage. He knew how to grab attention as well as sympathy and he damn well got what he'd wanted. That was _more _than intriguing.

He was in a uniform, or at least the base of one, dark blue slacks and a white button down shirt, both of which appeared to be worn but taken care of just the same. They were not wrinkled or ripped, just weary from use, and it seemed to be from one of the better high schools in the area, though there was no callous on his fingers from the use of a pencil or apparent interest in regaining his backpack if the police had taken it to search it for drugs.

L found himself more and more curious by the minute. It would not hurt to waste a little more time on such an interesting person. After the anomaly that made the boy momentarily fascinating was revealed, he would lose interest in minutes. Then he could move on. Perhaps to more cake.

Most likely to more cake.

"How did you get that black eye?"

He started with a seemingly innocent question when he approached, sitting down in his usual fashion with his knees to his chest, beside the boy on the bench, leaving his shoes behind on the floor.

"I punched myself in the face when I saw the police..." The boy started speaking idly before trailing off, looking over at his visitor. Apparently he didn't have much interest in maintaining the secrecy of his act. "...coming."

His eyes were a lighter brown that L was used to seeing on a Japanese boy, and they took in L's posture and bare feet with distaste before continuing.

"Getting hurt myself in honor of my mother always earns points in my favor, especially with male officers. If I'd known I'd get a woman I wouldn't have bothered." He looked down at his nails, everything about him clean and just so even if his clothes were not of the highest of quality. Most people he'd seem in this area of town cared little about things like that, or had they're own tacky version of style, which L didn't really mind— he had little taste in clothes himself. "I've never gotten as far as the precinct before."

L took all of that in slowly, his own dark eyes sizing up the boy.

"What went wrong this time?"

"A betrayal that will be punished," the young boy answered smoothly. "But I'm afraid that's all the information you're getting out of me until I get something from you in return."

L paused for a moment, the only sign he gave that he was surprised by the fact the boy was being that careful.

"My name is Ryuuzaki." He offered lightly, watching the slender hands of the other soothe his wrists under the duress of the cuffs that had probably been digging into the flesh for hours.

"No, it isn't."

L blinked slowly, and didn't respond.

"But since you were kind enough to give me an alias, I'll give you mine. Toki Manoku, or at least that's the name the police think is mine." He commented off hand, speaking low enough that he couldn't be heard under the buzz of office machinery and the conversation and shouting coming from every which way. It wasn't low enough to be a whisper either, somehow more effective and less likely to call attention.

"The police believe your fake identity?" L stated the obvious after a moment's consideration. That was not an easy task. Any boy his age could receive a fake I.D., but to actually be in the system as a different person was a feat that he shouldn't have been able to pull off.

"It comes in handy."

"You're sharing a lot with a stranger, you realize," L pointed out idly, lifting his thumb to his mouth

"I've shared very little, actually," the brunette responded with a fluid motion, brushing his hair behind his ear. "I'll be released in less than three minutes, and you don't even know my real name."

That was true. But his fingerprints were on file, and L could get access to those easily.

...Wait. Was he seriously thinking of using resources just to find out the identity of some teenage criminal? It wouldn't take much to find out just who this boy was, but why was he so _interested. _The sharpness in those eyes had him second guessing himself because he hadn't expected to find this. He seemed out of place, like he was meant to be somewhere else, someone else, someone important, not a young boy from a dirty low class neighborhood destined for prison.

"How old are you?"

"Why does it matter?" He replied, seeming slightly exasperated with all of the questions.

"I'd assume sixteen although you look younger," L said firmly, turning his gaze up to the ceiling, "Most Asians do, thought."

A scoff from the younger of the two. "That's racist."

"No, it's factual," L replied, blinking, as though entirely taken aback by the claim. "Perhaps a bit of a generalization, but true for 84 percent of the population and therefore-"

"Therefore?" Amusement crossed the boy's face for a moment, before he shook his head, "No one talks like you do. Are you mentally challenged?"

"No, actually." L replied in, "I'm quite certain I've never met anyone who has challenged me mentally."

For a long moment, the boy stared at him, until L had to wonder if he had chocolate on his mouth from that seven layer cake slice he'd eaten at that amazing Bistro for lunch.

"You're cocky, aren't you."

"Indubitably," L nodded, digging his teeth down into the flesh of his thumb again and giving his own little smile around it, "Though I dare say not as much as you."

An elegant eyebrow cocked itself at the response, before something else seemed to catch his eye.

"Ah, there's my _father_ now. They must have called him to pick me up." The teenager said off handedly as a man that appeared to be in his late thirties came through the door. "Why are you even talking to me?"

"Why are you stooping to selling drugs?"

"Don't answer my question with another."

L took another moment to take in that annoyance. Whoever this boy was, he was not used to being defied. Who in the world was he, and why was he dealing _drugs _of all things? It seemed like a waste of a mind, but then again...many a brilliant mind had been used for worse.

"Because I find you intriguing."

A small smile twisted onto the boy's face. "What are you doing here? You're too smart to be a cop, you're not a victim, or a witness...But I highly doubt you're a criminal either, since you're not here in cuffs. You're intriguing yourself, Ryuuzaki-san."

"Good to hear," L replied flippantly, gazing at the man that had been addressed as the boy's father. "It's very unlikely that he is your father. You have none of his physical traits. What high school do you attend?"

"I don't." The boy answered, looking up as an officer walked over, taking a key and kneeling to undo one of the dealer's cuffs and allowing him to stand. A bruise had formed around his pale skin, and as the officer worked on the other restraint, he added, "And even if I did attend a high school, I wouldn't tell you which. I have no intention on repeating this interaction."

There was a challenging tone to L's voice when he responded, "I think I shall find you again, Toki-kun."

The boy's brow furrowed at the name. Apparently the informality of it stroked him the wrong way. Which was fine, because not knowing someone's real name stroked L the wrong way.

"I don't think you will. As interesting as you are, this ends here."

"You underestimate me."

"I return the sentiment." The response was quick, almost a snarl. He didn't like being met head on in such a way, and L had no problem testing him. "You aren't as smart as I thought you were. If you attempt to find out any more about me, I'm afraid I'll have to consider that an attack. You don't want to fight me, _Ryuuzaki-san_."

Every time he said L's name, he made it sound like something unfortunate. He had the distinct impression that whoever this teenager was, he had a talent for making others feel as worthless or as useful as he _wanted _them to feel.

"He who strikes first wins. And I already have." L stated calmly in response to the threat, still seated, because he had no problem letting the boy tower over him if it made him feel more powerful.

"No." The young delinquent caressed the wrist with the darkest bruise around it, as the man that was not his father gestured at him to follow impatiently. Light took the moment to look over his shoulder and hiss before he left.

"He who makes his opponent fear him. _He _wins."

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><p>Well, hello again, everyone.<p>

It's been a while since I've written fan fiction, or even read fan fiction in a long time but I'm attempting to get back in the swing of things. I've missed Light and L and all those other boys a lot, as well as getting feedback. (Hint? XD)

Please don't ask about my other stories in the reviews that (I hope!) you will leave. I'm starting with something new that I hope you'll enjoy just as much as my old stories. **(Now Beta'd by the lovely Artemesia)**

To clear something up-Sayu doesn't exist. Soichiro died before he could get Sachiko pregnant a second time. You're free to ask more questions of course, but they'll probably be answered in the next chapter or two. The next will be in Light's POV -third person- and as you've probably already guessed, Light is not just 'some criminal'. He's gotta be the best at everything he does, pretty little bastard.

Reviews loved as always, lovers. See you soon.

Nilah


	2. Adaptation

**Perfect Creature**

Rated _M_ for _Mature_

Alternate Universe (the only variable being Light's father died at the age of two, therefore ever attempt will be made to follow a realistic storyline based on that single modification), Violence, Adult Themes, and Heterosexual Relations, and (very) eventual Homosexual Relations.

After a tragedy, Light is left fatherless at the age of two, and raised by a broke single mother in a bad part of town. Existing for survival alone wears hard on a boy. Brains don't mean much when they're splattered on the pavement. Eventual Yaoi.

* * *

><p>.<p>

**Chapter Two – **_Year 2002_

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_"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." _-Charles Darwin

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Despite the amusing interaction, Light was still more than a little infuriated with the previous happenings of the day. Hanso, the name he'd given to the police, was a man that had been working for him, _not _the other way around. The betrayal that he'd alluded to was by the man, twenty years of age and obviously a coward, and he'd had been making his first deal under Light's watch. Light had been doing nothing more that...supervising.

Light did not _stoop_ to selling drugs.

He had underlings for that.

The police had pulled up, and not only had he ran as fast as his scrawny legs could carry him away from the scene, Hanso had shoved Light and spilled the contents of the drugs in his rush to get away.

Which was the only reason Light had ever been caught by the police. He'd been caught red handed, so to speak, which had also never happened before...and so for the first time he'd been taken away in handcuffs. That was not something he intended to repeat, and Hanso would be _punished _for making a fool out of him.

Light didn't kill people, and he was respected for his stance on that, for his _mercy. _But what he could do to people was far worse.

Dealing drugs was a business, a lucrative one, and Light had no problem selling substances to idiots who wanted to destroy their own bodies. He didn't touch that shit. It contributed to the rent, bills left over from the hospital and other loose ends because when he was a child they hadn't been able to afford what most people took for granted. He made sure things went smoothly for his mother, they got a check from the NPA, a small amount that covered very little, and his mother had what job she could get with only middle school education, but...

Light had a good bit of money stored away in three separate bank accounts, as well as a few thousand dollars in cash hidden away where no one could find or question it.

"Thanks again, Etsu-san," Light commented flippantly as he walked down the street ahead of the man that had claimed to be his father, pulling his rolled up tie out of his pocket and beginning to pull it around his neck and beneath the collar of his shirt. Etsu was the oldest member of Light's...

Gang? He hated to call it that. The men under his command were almost all older than him, but treated him as though he were their boss. He had earned their respect at only the age of fifteen, and he'd started at the age of thirteen. There were fifty four boys and men now, all of whom looked to him as their leader for his _uncanny _ability to...How exactly did they put it?

Make things happen.

Most of them, at least in the beginning, had beaten him to a pulp in elementary school. He'd been at the top of his class, a neat, brilliant boy that had been despised by the other boys in class. The girls had adored him, but that had only made him less popular amongst the large, cruel boys in just about every grade.

His mind was not admired here.

And so at the age of twelve, after many a beating, Light had decided to made a change. They would not respond to his intelligence outright, and so instead he worked around it.

First, he stopped raising his hand in class. When the teachers called on him, he would reply that he did not know the answer. When they insisted he try, he spoke back to them, and even earned applause when at one point the teacher had forced him to the front to answer an equation, and Light had written instead for the teacher to go to hell with chalk. Though it had confused his bullies, and delayed their next attack, it did nothing to change their minds about him.

Light Yagami was a pretty little queer, and that was that. Smart, or not, it remained to be their truth.

So Light decided to changed their truth.

The very first act of violence would be his last.

In front of a large group he had taken everything in his power and thrashed the most vicious member of the bullies. He'd been hurt himself, rather badly in fact, but everything had just...built in him, and he knew just where to punch, just what pressure point to jab, so that the other boy, though three times his size, would not be able to _walk. _In the end, Light had been battered, bloody, panting and bruised...

...but he had not been the one in the hospital that night.

It hadn't come easily after that, but he _had_ caught their attention.

"No problem, boss," Etsu replied, walking behind him easily as they started back toward the apartment building where Light and his mother lived. Light finished tying his tie just so, straightening it as he walked and looking over his shoulder.

"Jacket?"

Etsu dug through the bag he carried and pulled out the uniform school jacket that Light was asking for. Light sighed at how wrinkled it was, patting it a few times before slipping it on and sliding his hands over the front to smooth it out

"Who was that guy you were talking to, boss?"

"No one."

Then, he'd made sure a boy's father was arrested for something her hadn't done. He'd done so by hacking into the police database through the computer system at the library, stealing someone's identity for a credit card and with it buying off someone so that they would claim that he had _seen _the boy's father commit the crime.

That had been enough to take the man in for questioning, and that was all he needed.

Then, when he'd heard the boy crying about it one day, he'd told him he could turn it around. The man he'd bribed withdrew his testimony, and the boy's father was released from jail the next day.

It had been fairly easy to gain Kanto's trust, in the end. He'd been the toughest guy around, a big believer in loyalty. He had _owed_ Light, for getting his father out of prison, and Light had enlisted in his protection. Kanto spread the work, and soon others were coming to him for favors, some as simple as Light making sure a corrupt teacher got fired, or hacking into the system to change a test grade here and there. By the end of the year, Light's bruises had all faded, his fractured bones had mended...not to mention, he was minus eleven batterers, all of which had become his lackeys.

Friends, rather. At least, that's what he called them to make them feel powerful. This side of Tokyo was a dirty place, that would never change, but it did not have to be _lonely._

Light had gotten perfect grades, but had never bragged about it, and once he'd finished middle school he hadn't bothered to continue his education. His gang knew how intelligent he was, at least to an extent, because their little pea-sized brains couldn't _comprehend _how he made half of the things happen that he did. It was elaborate, and much of it was unethical or illegal or _both_, but it was how he had learned to survive.

It had worked damned well too.

His first act of violence had been his last ...because now, at fifteen-years-old, he had plenty of men that were happy to commit violent acts for him.

"_Fucking hell!"_

Light glanced up at the familiar voice to see a large figure coming right at him. Large shoulders, long, beefy arms covered with hair, with the face that had always reminded Light of a gorilla, Kanto was hardly the most attractive man in the world. But he was three times Light's size at the age of seventeen, and his first recruit. Unless you counted Etsu, who had been the man he'd bribed in the first place, who had grown to respect Light in the last couple years. Etsu was a meth addict, and only half old as he looked. He couldn't remember large chunks of his life and half of what he said didn't make any sense at all, so he was no threat to Light's little street empire.

"What?" Light responded, stopping in mid-step, irritated that he'd been interrupted once more. His mother was going to get worried if he was this late coming home from 'school'.

"Your _face, _Yagami, what the fuck?" Kanto replied, his loud voice grating on Light's already frayed nerves. He always sounded like he was chewing gravel. "Who did it?"

"Ah," Light brushed his eye, the bruise around it purple and slightly swollen. "My eye. Be more specific next time."

"Whatever. You need me to kill someone?"

"I told you, murdering anyone will send up too many red flags to police in the area-"

"Yeah, yeah," Kanto interrupted, gripping Light's face and pulling him up a bit to inspect it. Light shoved his hand away and fixed his collar, "You need me to _almost _kill anyone?"

"Nah, I hit myself to make the cops feel sorry for me."

"Oh, well that makes perfect—_the cops!"_ Kanto shouted, and even a few of the vendors and shop owners flinched. This wasn't the place to be joking about police being around, let alone hollering it to the skies.

"Yes." Light replied, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes, "Hanso left me to be arrested. Luckily I was able talk myself out of the situation, but not without them taking my fingerprints. I'll need to meet with Kotaru to arrange a new identity. I can't keep Toki's name now that he's in the system."

"So...you _do _need me to rearrange someone's face for you."

Light sighed, moving his arm up for a moment before bending his elbow and looking at his watch, the motion hiking up his sleeve enough that he could see it from beneath the cuff. It was a nice watch, more expensive than most of his other clothes, but not _too _nice. He didn't want to give anyone a reason to mug him, that was for sure, not that they could with the way his gang watched out for him. Even so, being flashy in this neighborhood, even if it didn't cause one to get mugged, could inspire resentment that Light didn't want to take the time or effort to correct.

"Yes, go hurt him, and make sure he doesn't show his face in my district again," Light informed Kanto as he let his arm fall back to his side. He should have been home an hour ago. Light considered warning the man that this meant that the favor Light had done for him was going to undone. Hanso had been in trouble in Osaka,and Light had managed to get the evidence lost while it transit from one precinct to another , meaning with a little computer handiwork Light had gotten it sent to an address that was a few numbers off. By the time the police had realized the mistake, of course, Light had plucked the package up off the side of the road and taken it home.

Now he would have someone drop it off anonymously at the precinct he'd only just left.

Kanto nodded as Light began to walk again, "You got it, Yagami."

"See you tonight." He waved as he walked passed the bulky teenager, Etsu staying behind with the other probably to see if they could make any more sales before they met up with the rest of the the neighborhood that was under Light's influence.

Light turned the corner and walked the next two blocks before finding the door to the apartment building where they lived. The brick was cheap on the outside and the windows were barred, all twenty floors of them. Light stepped up to the door and pressed in the twenty digit pass code that was his idea alone, something his mother still wasn't fond of. She still had it written on a slip of paper in her purse because she couldn't remember it even after five years. Their apartment had been broken into when Light had been ten years old, so he had concocted the completely random set of numbers as their password, and then had same mechanism for the door to their apartment installed.

They couldn't move out of this neighborhood. Light's mother was still unaware of the fact that Light was the reason things were going so smoothly, and he couldn't exactly _tell _her that _drugs_ would pay for an apartment in a better part of town, that she didn't have to work herself sick anymore because Light had people that could take care of _everything-_

"Oh, honey, you're home! How was school?"

After all, Sachiko Yagami wasn't even aware that Light was not, and had never been, attending high school.

She would feel like a failure as a mother if she knew. Besides, Light had more of a mind on him then all of those idiot high school teachers put together. Getting a real job wasn't an option for someone like him, in any case, and he did not intend to waste his time when he already had a business of his own. He was too smart to get caught and go to jail, and let it be known to his following that none of _them _would get caught if they did as he said.

"It went well. I had a math test. I'm sure I did well on it," Light informed her, shrugging off the jacket he had only just put on and hanging it up by the door.

"Light..." She approached him, touching his chin as Light turned to him. "Your eye, sweetheart, you haven't been picked on in a while. Are you alright? Should I go down to the school again?"

Light patted her hand briefly and walked passed her, "Not at all, mom, it's been taken care of. Just some bully. He got suspended for it.

"Oh. Well...that's good then."

Light nodded, tossing his bag into his room onto his bed briefly before turning toward her again, distracting her with a compliment. "It smells great in here."

"You're home so _late_. Dinner's almost done," Sachiko told him as Light slipped off his shoes next and then slid his slippers on his feet.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was helping someone with their homework. If I tutor once a week I'll get extra credit." The lie came easily. He'd had more than enough time to think it up.

"Oh! How nice!" A sly look crossed the female Yagami's face. Or rather, as sly as the woman's face could manage, "Was it a female student?"

Light allowed her a laugh, groaning, "Mom..."

"I'm curious, that's all! My son is a good looking boy..." She smiled, patting Light on the shoulder before heading back to the tiny kitchen that was connected to the living room by nothing more than an archway. The living room was big enough for a loveseat, a television and a fold out chair comfortably if there was company, and in the corner there was a small table and two chairs where they ate dinner. His mother rose her voice to speak over the sizzling of the stir fry, "What about that girl? What was her name? The one I saw you talking to outside a couple months ago."

Light glanced up, "Sayu?"

"Yes! Yes, that one." The older woman glanced over her shoulder, "What ever happened to her?"

"She's still around. She's working on being a model though, so she goes into the city quite a bit." Light commented idly, moving to the kitchen to set the table, pouring water for both his mother and himself and taking out a pair of rather nice chopsticks and then two plates that Light had gotten her for mother's day.

"Oh, that's good for her. I love that name..." She trailed off wistfully as Light set the bowls down on the counter, gathering a couple of napkins and bringing it all to the table to set it up. His mother began to load the bowls with food, leaving the pan in the sink to soak before they both headed to the table with their respective bowls.

"It smells wonderful, mom," Light commented as he sat and his mother gave a light 'Itadakimasu' before they both dug into their meals.

"Thank you, Light," She smiled, and then took a bite.

There was quiet for a long moment, the subtle sounds of glasses clinking or chopsticks scraping against the bowl.

"National Exams are coming up soon," Sachiko said, attempting to spark a conversation again about Light's schooling. "You've been studying quite a bit."

"Yes, I want to make sure I do well."

"You always do well."

"I try my best."

"I'm very proud of you, Light."

"Thank you, mom."

Again there was a silence. There was not much else for the to talk about. She was a sweet woman, and not overly bright...neither of which Light could relate to. He did what he had to to make a life for himself with what he'd been given, and had done things she would have never approved of.

"Are you working tonight?"

"Oh, no, not tonight. The weekend is coming up though, so I may not be here very often. Should I buy some snacks?"

"Don't worry about it, mom, I _can _cook for myself. " Light grinned at her, setting his bowl down and placing his chopsticks inside it. "Though perhaps not as good as you."

With a modest smile, Sachiko brushed off her son's compliment and started to talk about one of her dramas as Light collected the dishes and began to wash them. Before long, she was turning on the small television to watch the continuation of, thanking him for helping and Light washed his hands after his work.

"I'll be studying, mom, so don't disturb me."

"Of course, Light, I'll see you in the morning."

With that, he was closing the door to his room, a decidedly small space, but he had gotten the window that was attached to the fire escape. His room was large enough for a his single sized bed, a small desk and a fold out chair in front of it. He rarely used his desk, as he didn't own a computer, but leaving schoolbooks on it while he was away only reinforced his mother's belief that he was indeed attending school.

His mother was nothing if not hopeful.

Light sat on his bed for a moment, sliding his slippers off and leaning over to straighten his socks, before pulling on a pair of loafers and taking off the button up shirt he wore in place of a black t-shirt and a windbreaker. The heat outside would be broken now that the sun had set, and though it wouldn't be chilly by any means, he wouldn't be uncomfortable wearing something over his shirt. Wearing a t-shirt alone felt too informal for his status, that was the truth of the matter, and though he wasn't exactly a _Yakuza_ member (though he had _thought_ about it, the only discouraging part would be that he would have to start at the bottom and do dirty work of his own) and his members weren't exactly occupied with what he was wearing.

At least, they thought they weren't.

But Light knew how the mind worked, and took great care to appear just as he wanted to appear to them, even if the fools didn't realize it.

There was a reason that they gave their loyalty to a boy that was young, and not exactly... physically intimidating. His hair was brushed, but never too tidy when he knew he was going to be seen by them, he purposefully didn't articulate himself, used cruder language and slang. He didn't speak much, though, and he never yelled. It forced them to actually listen to him, and fear his quiet tones because that meant he was_ visibly _controlling his temper.

The way he walked said _– Regal. Confident. Someone to be listened to. _

The color of his clothes were usually black, or at least dark for the most part, and it told them— _Powerful. Daunting. Someone to be feared._

Light was amusing himself with his train of thought, zipping up the windbreaker and wondering idly if the brand of his underwear would do anything to manipulate their mindset in any fashion.

Not likely.

They weren't overly important touches, and nothing that hadn't been done before, but it all contributed to the power Light had over them.

Light slid the window open far enough for him to be able to crawl through, then went back to lock his door to be sure that his mother did not enter is room, just as a precaution. His mother would sleep soon, after she lost herself in her dramas, and Light would be back within a few hours to get some sleep before he woke up promptly to the sound of his alarm clock, ate breakfast with his mother, and then head out. It was important for his boys to keep moving, drug deals were set up before hand through cell phone calls, all of who Light had looked over and approved, _no one _was to sell to random people coming up in cars, and they kept walking.

No matter what, they didn't just sit like a leech on the side of the street. That was what cops looked out for, not people that looked like they were on their way somewhere important. Casual, easy strides, and whoever was buying the substance would be told to to 'walk east on Jinkuku Avenue on the left side of the street, right side of the side walk' until they were knocked into by one of Light's men.

An staged apology.

A quick exchange of drugs for money.

And then they were walking again, ready for their next scheduled appointment to bump into, trained on the names and faces of all of those involved by Light himself.

It was fast, easy, and it _worked _like a charm.

Unless there was a falter in one of the gang, like there had been with Hanso. Light had accompanied him on his walk, his first deal, and the bastard had panicked at the first sign of a cop car.

Light should have known he would have been a weak link and he cursed under his breath as he recounted the events and began climbing down the fire escape, down all eight floors until his shoes hit the ground with a thud. Raking his fingers through his hair so that it did not fall as smoothly as he made sure it did in front of his mother, before starting down the side walk. His stride was not rushed, but purposeful, allowing anyone watching to know that he was not lost nor merely taking a stroll, but had a destination in mind, and that did wonders to keep him safe in itself.

Before long, he'd found himself at their meeting place, a large abandoned shed just outside the track of the local high school. It was ridiculous how little security there was in such a place at night and on the weekends, though there was enough lighting for them to be able to function without the use of flashlights or other burdensome devices that could be left behind and used as evidence were they to be pursued.

Not that they ever would be.

Of the fifty four men that currently worked for Light, thirty one of them were already completely loyal. The rest were...on their way to be, but it took more than a single favor and the promise of money to earn the trust and servitude of men like this, especially when Light was significantly younger than some.

But his followers preached that if they wanted to do crime, and do it _well, _without the chance of being caught, they needed to listen to Light. He'd proven himself several times before to various members of his group, though the newest ones of course were obviously not as attached as the oldest members, such as Kanto, but there was a level of respect that was mandatory to be in Light's presence that everyone understood.

Maeda was the first to notice Light approach.

"Hey, boss, I wanted to talk to you."

"That's why I'm here, isn't it, Maeda-san?" Light inquired without much intensity, watching the boys and men that had arrived all around him. There were thirty-eight of them in all, technically the lowest wrung of his gang, the dealers and batterers, most of them those that had already been part of criminal activity long before Light came along.

There were others, of course, such as Kotaru, the man that worked in the mail room of the precinct that was more than he seemed. He'd done a fair bit for Light in exchange for help getting custody of his daughter. Of course, Light had made sure that his intentions were pure and that he wasn't some pedophile that wished to abuse her, but it had been easy enough to bribe the conniving mother who just didn't want to pay child support to give her daughter up. That little girl's face reminded Kotaru of his loyalty to Light every day, which was the sort of

"I wanted to know about Sayu-chan."

That caught Light's full attention. At any given moment he was usually fifty different places, thinking about several different things, but that...was important. His gaze cut in Maeda's direction sharply.

"What about her?"

The tone startled the boy, who was probably the youngest in the entire gang at just fourteen. "Well, ah...she's my cousin, you know? She's been hanging out with a lot of weird people, you know, men, the high class sort. My mom was worried about it."

"She isn't prostituting herself, I can assure you of that," Light stated easily, leaning against the body of a light pole, the flickering bulb washing down over his hair and shadowing his features. "However, what she is doing is condoned by me, and part of a larger plan."

"But she's not even part of thi-"

"She _wants_ to be," Light interrupted him, cocking a brow at the boy's vehemence. He understood the concern for family, even if he didn't care much for the girl herself. She wanted to be part of this gang, and Light had told her no. She had some sort of crush on Light and wanted to impress him, and she wasn't a complete idiot, so...she'd pitched an idea. "It isn't dangerous."

"Still, it feels like you're using her, and she's just a -"

"She's twenty years old, Maeda-san," Light once more spoke before he could finish, and though he used 'san' with all of his followers out loud, he still spoke to him as though he were reprimanding a child. "And it was _her _idea."

The boy swallowed slowly, "Oh."

"Is there anything else?" Light inquired, watching the others as they began to gather closer to him with their bags of cash and what drugs they had left over for the rest of the week. They reported to him at night like this, told him how much they'd sold, who had shown and who hadn't, and the few that were receivers organized who would pick up what the next day out of those that had called them.

"No...no, that's it."

"Don't worry about it. It will be good for everyone involved." Light smirked, nodding at those who greeted him, "It means a raise, in money and power."

"Yeah?"

"It's bigger than anything we've done before," Light responded lowly, before raising his voice just slightly to speak to the rest of those that approached him, ready to begin so that he could get home at a reasonable hour. "Alright, starting with you, Nitobe-san."

.

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><p>AN: (**Anonymous is a very bad name: **I was reading a bunch of reviews for stories I haven't looked into for a while, and I came across this huge, complimentary review that I would love to respond to. It was a year ago, and I'm not sure if you will even read this story after my absence, but you were anonymous and didn't leave an email. So I hope to hear from you.)

Someone assumed that Light's mother would be a bitch, because I mention that she isn't doting on my profile, but that's more just the fact that she doesn't have as much time for him as she would if she were a stay at home mom where he was her only job. Sayu is just an OC, not going to be in the story very much at all, but I hate that I can't include her in this story so naming this character that was more of a tribute than anything else. She's nothing like Sayu, and her and Light are not any closer because he had a sister with that name in another universe.

L will return in the next chapter. This was to explain and set things up for the future...And by the way, someone called him Ghetto!Light and I nearly died. Effing hilarious thought, right there. Even ghetto Light will never truly be ghetto, though. :P

**Also, I am currently searching for a Beta (or 2...or 3) to give me input as well as grammar/spelling corrections.** I like to talk through ideas with people, and get a feel for how another party will read/interpret what I've written and I feel like I definitely need that, being somewhat out of the hang of things. I need someone that will be online fairly often, too...so I know I'm asking for a lot but hopefully there will be someone out there willing and able. :) Just tell me in your review if you're interested (and make sure I have a way to respond to you!)

Thanks again! Oh, tomorrow is my birthday so...review as a present? (Shameless, I know.)

Nilah


	3. Development

**Perfect Creature**

Rated _M_ for _Mature_

Alternate Universe (the only variable being Light's father died at the age of two, therefore ever attempt will be made to follow a realistic storyline based on that single modification), Violence, Adult Themes, and Heterosexual Relations, and (very) eventual Homosexual Relations.

After a tragedy, Light is left fatherless at the age of two, and raised by a broke single mother in a bad part of town. Existing for survival alone wears hard on a boy. Brains don't mean much when they're splattered on the pavement. Eventual Yaoi.

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><p>.<p>

**Chapter Two – **_Year 2003_

_._

"_Men are only as good as their technical development allows them to be." -_George Orwell

.

.

.

New Years Day passed without much event for Light, though the rest of Japan was wrapped up in the festivities, which meant a temporary spike in sales. People liked to party, and many of them thought the experience was somehow amplified with the use of substances.

Exploitation of that was Light's business.

Light enjoyed classical music more than any of the other drivel that was on the radio, but Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the traditional music of January 1st in Japan, was starting to grate on his nerves by the time midnight came around.

It had been three months since the day Light had been arrested, however briefly, and Hanso was currently rotting away in a jail cell awaiting his trial. Light had been pleased the day he'd hacked into the police database to see that he'd been arrested, and with enough evidence to almost certainly put him in jail for ten years. But the satisfaction from that victory had waned weeks ago.

Now, they were in the midst of conquering something much bigger, something that could easily triple their revenue were they to pull it off.

_Dun dun dun da dun da ta doo da..._

It was the weekend, and therefore Light took the opportunity to relax while he wasn't expected to be at school or anything gang related to attend to. It was snowing outside the window, though it was warm inside their small apartment. He remembered when he was a child and they couldn't afford to keep the heat on for long periods of time, and he'd curl up in the bed and shiver under his blankets as he read a book, ice forming on the glass of his window. This time of year had always been the worst, and Light had learned to hate the crunch of snow outside. At eleven, he'd been left bleeding and barely moving, face down on the freezing white ground, the sound of crunching snow under the boots of other students as they _passed _him had been like the seventh circle of _hell..._

_Dun dun dun da dun da ta doo da..._

He sighed and reached for his phone, the store bought kind he exchanged every two weeks, giving his new number only to those he wanted to have it. It was Sayu. He'd been waiting for this call from her. Awaiting it, however, did not mean he had been looking forward to it. She was a brash woman at best, with a mouth ten times the size of her brain.

He hoped to keep the conversation short.

"Atake-san," He greeted blandly, gazing at his ceiling.

"Yagami-san." He could hear the smile in her voice when she spoke, however small it was.

"Do you have something to share with me?"

"Oh, _loads._"

"..."

"..."

"Well, did you call me to tell me or to just hear my voice?" Light drawled, irked at the silence. He hated it when people paused and expected you to _ask _them to continue. If he hadn't wanted to hear it, he wouldn't have _picked up._

Women.

"Yeah, yeah, man, chill out already. I just wanted to let you know the director boned me."

"...That's vulgar, but good, I suppose." Light replied without much inflection. She'd been working for the last five months to work her way up the rung in modeling, and she'd finally managed to get someone only a few steps below the CEO of the entertainment corporation to sleep with her. "Pictures?"

"A shitload, Yagami-san, you wouldn't _believe _what this guy is into_. _Fucking _pig._"

"Good."

But was it? Light hadn't liked this idea from the beginning, if he was honest with himself. He'd gone along with it because it meant money, and because Sayu already had her mind set on it. She was a headstrong girl with a mouth like a sailor, and had already signed up for the modeling before she had even come to Light with the idea.

Maeda had a right to be worried. She was using her body in ways that Light didn't condone. She was a good person, and sleeping with someone for the betterment of the gang's finances, even just once, was...prostituting herself.

It was revolting. But it had been _her idea, _and she had made it clear that she would be doing it, whether Light benefited from it or not.

"This will be good for us." Light paused, not sure how to go about expressing the sentiment without offending her. However disgusting her actions were, she was a strong woman. She hadn't crumpled when she'd been knocked down, and he admired that in a woman, even though she was _stupid_. "You didn't have to do this, you realize."

"I won't always be mooching off of Anakoba," That was the name of the entertainment and modeling company she was burrowing herself inside. "You're the best around, and Maeda-san trusts you."

"I would have given you the protection without this, Atake-san."

"It wouldn't be the same. I'd be some charity case, not part of the crew. I want them to protect me because I'm one of them, not because you tell them poor little Sayu-chan was raped by the big bad boogyman and doesn't want it to happen again."

She said it so flippantly that it made Light's stomach turn. The other men in his group would either hike up their shoulders in anger, or pretend to flinch while secretly not giving a damn at the thought of a woman being raped. Not because they themselves would hurt a woman in that fashion, or had, but because they knew so many girls that had been abused in some way that it was practically normal to them. Light knew which to trust and which he should be weary of. Kanto would make an excellent watchman for Sayu; he was huge, scary looking, and had a stronger stance on protecting women than any of the other boys in the group.

"All the more reason for you not to do this. Do you have no self worth?"

"Not much, Yagami-san," She spat, a little venomously, though she took a moment to calm herself, almost as though responding to Light's lifted eyebrow. "You aren't my therapist, you're my boss-you ..._are _my boss, aren't you?"

Her voice faltered slightly and Light did his best not to sigh. Sayu was more needy for approval and acceptance than she would have anyone believe, and he knew her harsh words were just that—words, with nothing behind them. It was a defensive mechanism that she'd learned in order to protect herself, and Light couldn't bring himself to fault her for it, however irksome it might be.

"...Yes."

"Good. So, I got the pictures and put them in the safety deposit box, like you asked."

"Excellent. Have you acted on the blackmail aspect of it?"

"Not yet, I figured I'd do that today."

"Do I need to go over with you exactly what you're going to say to him?"

"What, you think I can't blackmail someone? Where did I grow up again, Yagami-san?"

"Alright, if you think you can handle it."

"Of course I can _handle it. _Either he becomes the direct link between his clients and our drugs, or else his wife gets a face-ful of what happened in that office."

"In the office?" Light tried not to sound as disgusted as he was at the thought of it.

"C'mon, that's like the most common fantasy ever. Sex on the desk, people in the next room...and the fact that it was with me just made it all the more awesome."

"Those are not details I need to hear."

"No? I always pegged you for a closet pervert, you know that? Suko said I was crazy for it, but I'm still not convinced..."

Maeda Suko, her young cousin. Light still wasn't sure what to think of him, but the boy seemed to idolize him, even if he asked questions that were sometimes out of line. "You're crossing the line, Atake-san."

"...Right, sorry."

Light paused for a moment, taking in the apology skeptically. She rarely apologized that quickly.

"What do you want?"

"I—don't know what you mean."

"You never take that meek tone unless you want something from me. What is it, money?"

"No! No...fuck, Yagami-san, I...don't want anything but leniency."

Light fought the urge to grind his teeth against each other, sitting up and saying slowly, "What did you do? Did you screw something up already? Just tell me so that I can fix it-"

"No, not for _me. _For Suko."

Light took a breath, narrowing his eyes as though she sat before him. "For what?"

"...Well. He lost some drugs." She said as quickly as she could, then scrambled to elaborate. "A customer that he started to do the usual with stopped him to ask if he could get twice as much-"

"And he _believed _him." Light cut her off, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"Well, yeah, and the guy punched him in the stomach, kneed him in the chin and pulled off his jacket with all the drugs stuffed in the pockets at knife point..." She trailed off, waiting for Light's reaction.

Light took a moment to gather himself, before asking as calmly as he could manage. "Why do _you _know this?"

"Well, I'm his cousin, and he didn't know what to do-"

"I see. " Light cut her off quietly. He hadn't been the first to know about it, which was worse than the mistake itself.

"...What are you going to do to him? Suko is an idiot, I know-"

"That isn't your concern." Light replied curtly. He didn't plan to have the boy _beaten_ but...suspending him from dealing for a while seemed like proper discipline for such a blunder. "Call me back when you've successfully set up appointments. You'll be taking the drugs to the actors and models yourself. You've done well, Atake-san."

"Yes, but, what about-"

Light hung up, and turned his phone to silent so that she couldn't call back just to bother him.

He pocketed his phone once more and pulled on a thick, long sleeved shirt and a coat over it, as well as a pair of gloves that had been his mother's birthday present to him last year. Smooth, brown leather, not the highest quality but...a treat, as far as he was concerned.

Closing the door behind him and resetting the alarm, as he did every time he passed, he started down the hallway and toward the elevator, the stained carpet and the peeling wallpaper no longer fazing him. Soon, he was out in the snow, looking up briefly before brushing the white flecks off of his nose as they tickled his face. He pulled the hood over his face as he walked toward the schoolyard; if Meada really intended to apologize, or confess honorably, then that was where he would be. His group was due to meet in less than two hours anyway, and some of those that got done early would probably be around, loitering and playing cards.

The ground was slick with snow, the road glazed and looking very much like a dark, iced over river, save for the pained yellow and white. It was stark against the gray of the street, reminding him just how plebeian it was—it was _not_ a river. It was just a road, nothing more. It was really quite beautiful...it made this neighbor hood ridiculously clean, pure...

Light hated it.

This place was nothing of the sort, and for the damnable snow to blanket over it, like some white veil, it was like-a betrayal of all he'd worked to achieve. This place was not bright, or pristine, or beautiful, and the proof of that was in _him _and what he _was._

Which was brilliant. And that had gotten him nothing but bruises, broken bones and humiliation.

He wouldn't stand for it.

Today was already a bad day, and the sun had not even begun to set. The snow was seeping through the worn soles of his shoes as he walked, stinging his feet with the cold of it. It was only setting his nerves more on edge as he approached the empty storage cell. A few boys already gathered there, drinking sake they'd no doubt stolen and doing their best to stay dry. Among them was Meada, looking antsy and worried and-

-looking up with wide eyes as Light approached.

Pulling down the hood of his coat, Light continued walking towards him as he spoke quietly. "Are you an idiot, Meada-san?"

He could actually hear the boy gulp. "Yes! I—I mean _no_. I mean...yes?"

Light regarded him coolly and carefully; he was _young _and not very bright. Light enjoyed the fact that he was one of the few people in the gang that he had not had to win over simply because Meada was younger. But he couldn't let the mistake go completely unpunished, or people would start stealing drugs under the disguise of a mistake and Light wouldn't _have __that, _not even once. After Hanso had been taken care of, he was determined not to let it happen again. Hanso had been a lesson to everyone, but that didn't mean he could just let this go.

"Was there a particular reason you decided to ignore the very _effective _process that I instated so that this _wouldn't happen?"_

"No! I didn't...I mean..." The boy fiddled with the hem of his shirt, defending himself with more energy than Light was exerting to chastise him. "I thought I could—you know, come out ahead this week, if I made extra sales. I—I didn't think-"

"No, you didn't, Meada-san," Light said lowly, averting his gaze and quieting himself. The other boys looking at the interaction out of the corner of their eye tuned in on Light's voice now that they realized someone had screwed up. He literally let the boy sweat it out for a minute. He could see a trickle run down his forehead and over his cheek. It was really a revolting nervous habit. "For two weeks you will not be going on deabls. For a month following, Isui-san will be accompanying you on every -"

"Oh come on! I don' wanna walk around with tha' dweeb!" The whiny voice of Isui from behind Light was like nails on a chalkboard.

"Y—Yeah, Yagami-san, he doesn't like me very much..."

"I don't quite _care_ whether you like each other," Light replied without hesitation, looking over his shoulder at Isui, who looked even more irritated with Light's decision. "You've been doing this for me for over two years now. You've never made a mistake and are possibly the most competent seller I have, _and_ the one that has been around the longest..."

And, the most susceptible to praise. Light didn't want to promise him more money, or more power, and most of the other's weren't satisfied by a mere pat on the head.

As he expected, Isui stared for a moment, obviously surprised by the compliment.

"Oh...er—well, _yeah_, I guess tha's true...but still..._baby_ sittin'..."

Meada looked miffed with the term, but didn't say anything to dispute it. He didn't have very much gall, for that Light was glad.

"You're the only one I trust him with, Isui-san. He's just a kid, and besides, don't you have three younger brothers?" Light inquired, taking a few steps toward the other to meet his eyes as he worked his way around this problem. Manipulating people was a game, whether it be with money, secrets or merely giving verbal appreciation where they may have never had it before...This place was not known for loving, compassionate families. Many of his men with a true gang mentality wanted to be recognized for their accomplishments and thought of as necessary.

It was a lie. No one here was _necessary_.

Except for Light, of course. This entire operation revolved around him, what he could manage with his mind and what he could give to them in exchange for answering to him.

"Well...yeah, but...oh...oh, alrigh', alrigh', I'll do it then."

"Wonderful," Light replied, the word slipping off of his tongue fluidly, "And you, Meada-san."

"Er, yeah, yeah, of course." If that was the only punishment he got, he deemed himself lucky.

"That's settled then," the young leader said after nodding, leaning back against the lamp post that he had all but claimed as his own a moment later. "I trust ….that you won't make such a mistake again."

"Y...yeah, definitely."

"Especially going to _your cousin, _before me." That part truly annoyed Light to no end. "She isn't even an official member yet, and I will not have you compromising the sanctity of our group. Do you understand?"

Meada swallowed thickly once more, "Y—Yeah, I got it."

Light closed his eyes, his comment almost casual, and everything about the way he held himself giving off a loose, regal but not especially tense quality-but, even so, he forced ice into his tone, to let everyone know that the next time would not be considered an _accident_.

He could feel the snow again now that he was still enough to think about it.

"...Uh oh."

Light didn't open his eyes just yet. It was Meada's voice. If he was going to protest after Light had been so lenient on him, taking twenty thousand yenout of Light's pocket and walking away with probation and surveillance, he didn't _care _if Sayu bitched at him-

"_Yagami-san..._"

Light withheld a sigh and opened his eyes, focusing through the soft white flurry on three figures. From this distance it was clear, the hulking figure of Kanto was one, and on the other side was someone that was a bit smaller that Light couldn't quite make out. But what became clearer as they approached was that the one in the middle, tall and wiry, was being held by the two on either side and all but dragged along.

Caramel eyes narrowed at the sight as he watched them approach, dark hair was all he could make out from the stranger, and...Had yet another thing been compromised? Kanto knew enough to bring him someone that knew too much, but something like that had _never_ happened before.

The snow shuffled under the captive's shoes, which Light could see were clad in tennis shoes, not even fully on his long feet. The sight was familiar, but it wasn't until he was right before Light, speaking, did he realize just who the man was.

"Yagami-kun's sycophants are not very polite."

Something in Light twitched visibly at the informality, but Kanto seemed to see it and promptly released the long arm in his grasp. Gatsuo, who Light had identified now that he was close enough to see his face, followed suit and dropped the man into three inches of snow. There was a thud and the squish of sludge beneath him.

"You know him, Yagami?" Kanto asked, looking down at the figure, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was talking 'bout you, y'know, and I mentioned your name— no big deal, but he'd been walking around for the last hour, and when he heard me say your name-"

"I asked him very nicely if he meant Yagami Light." Large, thin hands pressed flat to the snow and pushed himself up into a sitting position, patches of his clothes darker in places from the moisture of melted snow. He wore the same style of jeans and cotton shirt that Light remembered him wearing three months and six days prior, the only difference being the unattractive, puffy coat he wore. "To which he punched me. Like I said, Yagami-kun has poor taste in-"

"Psycho-pants?" Kanto rolled his eyes, and Light tried not to appear irritated with the older boy's lack of vocabulary.

"He fought back pretty well though," Gatsuo muttered, patting his cheek that was already beginning to bruise. "We figured we oughta bring him to you."

No one outside his gang on the street knew him by 'Y_agami Light'. _It had been Toki before, and now it was Yokuro.

"No, you were good to bring him to me," Light told them flippantly, gazing down at the man and into the dark eyes that were peering up at him in a drastic contrast to the snow that surrounded him. Somehow, this man had found out his name from _nothing, _and he couldn't imagine how he'd done it—Had Hanso pointed him in Light's direction somehow? Light had been positive that he wasn't a cop, but perhaps he was mistaken. The thought that he might have been _mistaken _made his stomach clench and twist inside him.

"Light-kun's eye has healed."

"Why are you talking to me like that?" Light responded, an edge to his voice as he met that gaze firmly, "And of course it has, it's been three months."

"Talking to Light-kun like what?" Dark eyes met his just as unrelentingly, a slight cock to the head as though to play innocent, but...Light knew that the man was perfectly aware of how abnormal his speech pattern was.

"This guy's a freak, Yagami, c'mon, let me beat the shit out of him-"

Light's eyes flashed at Kanto, annoyed. _"Leave._"

This was a stranger, for the love of _God_. It was horrible enough that Light had given him information under the false pretense that he would never see him again, but for him to realize that Light that was truly the leader of the group, and that they had no problem with violence, and that they met here at the school...

Dammit. They'd have to find another meeting place after this.

Though it had been a good decision for this man to be brought to him, it was also giving Light a headache thinking about all the things he would have to correct.

Today was not a good day.

Light's eyes snapped up to Kanto, "I said _leave. _All of you."

He let his eyes flicker to the group of boys still playing cards. "We won't be meeting tonight. Spread the word to the rest of them."

"Yag-" Kanto started, but Light held up a hand to cut him off. The largest boy was shooting a glance to the foreigner on the ground, who only seemed to be observing blandly. It was unnerving, those eyes, blank and wide and looking right through him like he could see every thought Light had ever had through the armor of his _skull._

"Yeah, fine, alright," Kanto shoved his bulky hands in his pockets and yanked his head in the direction of the gate they had come through. "C'mon, you guys."

Light watched them groan and stand, collecting their cards, and out of the corner of his eye took in the tall, lanky figure standing as they others started to depart. Hopefully the man would think that the dozen boys that had been here today was the extent of his power, but...somehow those intelligent eyes demanded Light's concern. The brunette turned his eyes back in the direction of the older man, the breeze running like cold fingers through his hair as he regarded Ryuuzaki, or whoever the hell he was, with scrutiny. He didn't like this. He'd _lost, _as the man had predicted he would, because the cops couldn't even find him, he wasn't in their _system, _but somehow this man that had merely sat on a bench next to him at the right time had tracked him down and even managed to be brought to his meeting place. Of course, that was because Kanto hadn't known what else to do with him, not through any actual plan of Ryuuzaki's-

...No. That wasn't possible. He wouldn't have thought ahead that far. Light was being ridiculous.

Of course, _Light _had thought of it, but Light thought of a lot of things that seemed obvious that no one understood when he tried to explain it. He had learned to tell the difference between common thoughts and-well, _his _thoughts, and this man risking his life, getting beaten up, and dragged here in the snow was not something that a normal person would think of.

Light decided to break the silence.

"So," He started, feeling the urge to cross his arms over his chest, but resisting the defensive gesture. "You found me."

"I told Yagami-kun that I would, did I not?" Was the casual reply, as the man walked passed Light and perched in the doorway of the storage unit that was about a foot off the ground, peeling his drenched shoes from his feet.

He wasn't even wearing socks.

"It took you three months, though," Light replied in a tense voice as he turned around, following the man with his gaze, "That's not exactly impressive."

"Actually." The slob intoned, "It took me a little under three hours. You see, I was busy with something and I could not spare a moment. I apologize for not coming sooner. I found my schedule freeing up, at least in part, so I decided to see if I could locate you."

…._Three hours?_

He was lying, surely.

"It took me approximately two hours to be brought to your location, where we are now." Ryuuzaki explained before Light could doubt that as well. "Even so, I am shocked with how hidden Yagami-kun is within the system. How, exactly, did you manage that? Not just once, but twice?"

So he knew about Light's other alias as well.

"I have connections." Light shot back at him his gloved fingers twitching at his side as though doing their best not to curl into fists. "That's all you're getting out of me."

"I figured as much. I image Yagami-kun has many connections. He can be very manipulative, when he wants to be."

Light allowed a crinkle to form on his brow, "I prefer the term _charming._"

"I don't doubt that, Yagami-kun," Ryuuzaki nodded, pulling his knees up to his chest when his shoes had been set behind him, further under the roof of the storage shelter, on a dry patch of metal. His bare feet were perched on what had to be freezing steel.

He could feel the headache that had been coming on before, emerge once more in the sensation of throbbing behind his eyes, "Stop referring to me so informally."

"Why?" Was the childish response.

"Because I don't know you, and I don't _want _to know you." That was partially a lie. If this man could find him so easily, if that was the _truth..._he might just be someone to have on his side. Light was constantly building his contacts, and with the new steps that Sayu was taking, it might be good to have someone that could possible dig up dirt on someone else in another industry.

He wasn't about to let the strange man know of that interest just yet.

"Yagami-kun has wounded me. I heard the one that punched me call him 'Yagami', which is much more crass that my endearment."

Light stared. _Endearment._ The man was obviously a foreigner, and so perhaps he had gotten the word confused with something less..._cheesy._

"He calls me that because I am his boss and because he is an idiots that doesn't understand pleasantries. You, however, are a stranger, an intelligent one at that." The young man admitted, "I assure you, no one uses 'kun' with me. I find no reason that you should, especially considering I am not fond of you, something that such an honorary clearly indicates."

That was a lie. Kanto (_mistakingly) _felt as though Light was a brother to him as the longest standing member of Light's gang, and Light allowed him to believe it. His loyalty was important, and Light had no problem allowing the older boy to believe they were _close _if it kept him by Light's side.

"Yagami-kun already admits to hold me to higher standards than the rest. I am flattered." Ryuuzaki did not look flattered. In fact, his face was as cold and hard as the steel he sat on. "But also disheartened. I am quite fond of Yagami-kun."

He looked just as _disheartened _as he had flattered.

"You obviously don't know me very well."

"Perhaps not," The older man assented, his wriggling toes catching Light's eye, "But I feel that I know Yagami-kun better than anyone else. Especially his sycophants. "

"_Do _you?" Light scoffed, the amused glint in his eye bordering on anger. It was bitter, because _of_ _course_ this man didn't _know _him. No one knew him. Light wasn't even sure, after all this time, that he knew himself anymore. That was what he'd done to himself, _changed, lied, _twisted himself until he was a mere shadow of who his father had begun to raise him to be. Light chose to forget those memories, as they were long ago, and...they didn't apply to him. Not anymore.

"I know that Yagami-kun's vocabulary and general articulation has increased exponentially since his gang departed."

His eyes narrowed once more at the crouched figure and a steady curl of tension made a home in Light's shoulders.

"I also know that it has made Yagami-kun uncomfortable for me to state such an observation." Those eyes were going to strangle him. Never had Light met another gaze head on in such a way and been even halfway convinced to look away.

_Who was this man?_

"I know that Yagami-kun's intelligence is currently unmeasured due to his reluctance to be open with it."

Light's stomach didn't know what to think about these words. It seemed to shoot up into his throat and sink somewhere beneath the layer of snow on the ground, the chill in the air suddenly even more prominent. He was beginning to see the dots of white that clung to his bangs, collecting there and dampening his hair.

"I also know that Yagami-kun will enjoy not having to dumb himself down around me." The smooth baritone echoed in his ears as he met those eyes, "Should he choose to humor me."

This was ludicrous.

This man was lying. _Lying. _And if he wasn't, he should have no interest in Light. He was a criminal, and this man had practically told him on that bench in the precinct that he didn't approve.

But _Goddammit_ if he didn't want him to be _right._

Whoever he was...he could be an ally. A brilliant ally, someone that could keep up with his plans, not a follower that just happened to be good at taking orders. Light would have to gain Ryuuzaki's trust, or at least his debt, and he could be useful. He'd never gotten anyone genuinely confident and skillful on his side before and he loathed to pass up the opportunity.

Ryuuzaki was obviously interested in Light for _something, _and Light could use that interest to befriend him. Or pretend to, anyway, to find out what made this enigma tick, what he valued, find out what he wanted or needed –and use it. Light was good at that. Pretending, charming...

...Humoring.

Without another word, he sat beside the stranger and watched as a fresh blanket of snow fell on the rotting city before him.

* * *

><p>AN: Alright, peeps, yet another chapter! I would like to thank both **Pezlie **and **Rein Mikazuki **for beta'ing this chapter! You're both great and I love talking to you both (as well as having people to point to when reviewers tell me about a mistake. It was _them!_ I kid, I kid. XP)

ALSO! I am shamelessly promoting a good friend of mine, who has begun a faaabulous BxLight story titled **'Butterfly Caught'**. So if you're looking for something to read, I suggest you mosey on over to my favorites and click on that bad boy.

Thank you all so much for your reviews. I'm so glad that people are still reading my stories. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter, and I will do my best to give you a speedy update!

Nilah


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